


All Stars Burn and Fade

by therainbowbandit



Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Ending, Angst, M/M, One Shot, although things turn out much the same way, barricade fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-27
Updated: 2015-08-27
Packaged: 2018-04-17 12:46:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4667031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therainbowbandit/pseuds/therainbowbandit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One-Shot. After the barricade falls, Javert meets Valjean again, but it's too late for fate to change its course.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All Stars Burn and Fade

**Author's Note:**

> Written and posted on Tumblr in 2013, now revised slightly. Based on the 2012 movie. Shout outs to the Fandom Fort, you're all unforgettable.

Javert could not remember sharing a moment so intense with another person ever before in his life. The brief moment of eye contact he shared with Valjean as he pulled the trigger of the gun and fired a shot into the wall, the prolonged stare between them as Javert delayed his movements and then finally made his escape- it felt like it would stay with him forever. The words echoed in his mind, the words of this other man- his enemy, his adversary at all costs… _the most important person in my life_ , came a thought that struck him for a moment and was summarily brushed off-  
“You are wrong, and always have been wrong.”  
Jean Valjean had let him go free, and Javert was not sure what _wrong_ was any more.  
-  
Valjean had also spent some time dwelling on their encounter. He knew setting Javert free was the right thing to do, without a shadow of a doubt- somewhere within him he even _wanted_ the man to be safe, wanted his forgiveness even, wanted him to see how misguided he had been- but still he had worries. Would Javert truly still pursue him after all that had gone between them in the last day? The look they shared when Valjean cut the rope around his hands, one with a strange depth and intensity that Valjean could not decipher- that look flashed through his mind now. However, there were bigger matters at play, and so he let the Inspector fall to the back of his mind for the moment. His priority was Marius, and making sure he returned safely home to his dear Cosette. He could not bear to think of her vibrant young heart being broken. The battle was beginning to intensify, with shots ringing from both sides of the barricade, and some of the young boys he had become acquainted with already lying dead on the ground. That was when he saw the barrel of a gun aiming straight for Marius. He didn’t have time to think about it. If he did not save the boy, then what was the purpose of his coming here? Without further contemplation, he lunged forward to push Marius clear of the bullet.  
-  
Javert paced down the alley in the strange stillness that pervaded the air in the aftermath of the rebellion, the bodies of the young revolutionaries lined up in a sombre display. He tried not to let his eyes dwell on them, or the pools of blood that surrounded them, as he reached the end of the street, towards where the fateful barricade had been built. He wondered what had happened to Valjean, but he did not have to wonder much longer, as he turned a corner and almost stumbled over the collapsed form of the older man, breathing softly, clutching his chest, still alive but with eyes that were half-glazed over and seemed to stare into the distance. Javert knelt at once by his body, somehow missed by those cleaning up the area.  
“Valjean… Valjean!” he exclaimed, grabbing the man by his shoulders. It almost physically pained him to see the man in such a state, although he could not comprehend why.  
Valjean’s eyes seemed to slip back into focus as he strained to look at Javert.  
“Javert… It’s you.” he said plainly.  
“Valjean. Get up, come with me. We will find a hospital immediately.” Javert said in the most business-like fashion he could muster, attempting to drag Valjean to his feet, although the other man’s limp body was not budging.  
“It is no use, Javert.” Valjean said calmly. “It is too late for me now. But Marius is safe, and he is on his way to Cosette…”  
He paused to cough weakly as Javert urgently tried to prop him up. “That is all that matters.”  
Valjean’s eyes began to slide closed, and Javert shook him furiously, tears welling up in his eyes, sobs surging upwards to burn the back of his throat. It couldn’t end this way.  
“Valjean! Valjean, listen to me. You won’t die. You can’t die. It’s not meant to end like this, you hear me?” Javert cried desperately, knowing he was yelling at a weak and dying man but not knowing how else to handle the situation. A feeling of helplessness began to rise inside him as he clutched Valjean tightly, shaking him with all his might, feeling the blood from Valjean’s gunshot wounds seeping into his clothes as he held their bodies together.  
“Javert.” Valjean said with an air of unusual serenity for his predicament, reaching a trembling hand up to cup Javert’s face, throwing the Inspector off guard. “This is my end. Be at peace.”  
Javert was silent for a moment, gazing down with confusion into Valjean’s eyes, the light behind the soft hazel slowly starting to fade. “Stay with me.” He choked out, not knowing what else to say, reaching a hand up to clasp Valjean’s hand to his cheek, afraid that the other man’s ebbing strength would cause his arm to fall back down, yet not knowing why it was so important to him that it didn’t.  
“I am sorry… If I wronged you.” Javert gasped out, all the conflicts that lived in his mind churning together in a dark whirlpool of doubt and confusion.  
“I forgive you, Javert. As I said, I do not blame you. And you should not blame yourself.” Valjean said shakily, forcing a small smile onto his pained face.  
The tears behind Javert’s eyes that had threatened to burst forth did so now, spilling onto his cheeks, running over where their hands were locked together.  
“It has been a noble chase, Javert. And now it ends.” Valjean said, the breath fading from his lungs at every gasp. “I am glad you’re here. Now I can rest with ease.”  
With what seemed like a sudden burst of strength, Valjean pulled Javert’s face down to meet his, crashing their lips together in a kiss so full of unexpected passion that it set Javert’s insides aflame and left him gasping for breath, not knowing why or how he could feel such things for this man but feeling them anyway, pressing himself to Valjean with a wild urgency, kissing him as if he could somehow breathe life back into him, bring him back from the brink by sheer force of will. But as soon as it began, it was over, and Javert felt the other man grow limp underneath him, his lips no longer pressing back, his hand falling from Javert’s face, the movement of his chest slowing to a halt. Javert broke free of the embrace and gazed upon Valjean, slowly lowering a shaking hand to him and sliding his eyelids gently shut. Now he almost looked as if he could be sleeping, a peaceful countenance on his face.  
Javert cradled his body, still in shock at the loss of the man he had pursued, the man he vowed would always be a criminal to him, and more keenly at the crushing despair it had brought about in him. He allowed himself a few scarce moments to hold the man and weep, barely understanding his own thoughts, and then brought a hand up to graze his own lips, still feeling the trace of that savage yet heavenly kiss upon them. Gently, he pulled Valjean’s body over to the line of schoolboys, laying him down next to a young, blond gamin he recognised. His eyes flitted from Gavroche to Valjean, a great sadness washing over him, and eventually he patted Gavroche’s head gently, and then, taking the medal from his jacket, affixed it to Valjean’s chest, straightening it out with care.  
Without another word, Javert left the barricade, walking in the direction of the Pont au Change, staring up the entire time at what seemed a black and starless sky, devoid of light. For what light was there to be found when his entire world had been destroyed in an instant?  
He took the first step onto the bridge, Valjean’s forgiveness weighing heavy on his heart. He could not shake the thought that he could have found a way to save Valjean from his fate. The man deserved his place in Heaven, but Javert was unflinchingly sure they would not be meeting again.


End file.
